Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Florida Gators Make Push for No. 1


The last month has been quite a successful month for Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators. Despite rumors of some scandalous activity, Meyer contniues to rack up big names on the recruiting trail.

Some issues surrounding No. 1 ranked JUCO wide reciever Carl Moore and his girlfriend as well as Patrick Johnson's ACT test scores have not made Meyer any friends of late. Stealing Omar Hunter from Notre Dame and Ramon Buchanan and Matt Patchan (yes, technically Patchan was never committed to the U) from Miami certainly did not add to his loveable nature.

Let's keep in mind, Urban Meyer does not get paid to put smiles on people's faces. He gets paid to win football games. Monday, he added another really nice prospect to his roster. Hoover, AL defensive end William Green announced his intentions to sign with Florida next Wednesday.

Green is a really nice pick-up for the surging Florida Gators.

The 6-4, 220-pound Spain Park High product is another one of the hybrid defensive end/linebacker prospects. Some scouts see him as a linebacker, but Green is likely to be playing along the line in college. Although Green will have to add significant weight to play a pure defensive end position, he does show flashes of physicality. One thing is for sure: Green will not give up on the play. He has a wonderful motor chasing and pursuing the ball-carrier until the whistle every time.

Although the size is not there, the power and strength seem to be present. His hand technique and his pursuit angles will all develop with solid coaching. He has not learned how to shoot his hands and shed bigger blockers just yet. However, with his long arms and big frame, Green could end up a dominating end in college.

Defensive end is a position that Meyer needed to address, especially once they pulled Savannah (Ga.) Jenkins defensive end Chaz Sutton offer over fear of his grades not be adequate enough.

On a side note, Florida has gone into a lot of backyards and pulled some very talented players:

Dee Finley - S - Auburn, AL (AC100 No. 51) self-explanatory
Omar Hunter - DT - Buford, GA (AC100 No. 49) a short drive form Athens
William Green - DE - Hoover, AL (AC100 No. 63) a Birmingham suburb
Sam Robey - OL - Louisville, KY self-explanatory

1 comment:

Matt said...

Yes! I've been excited about Green. I still think we end up at the 3rd-4th spot when all is said and done, too many big prospects that are likely going to schools in the top 5.

ColOmbia (that's how you spell it, with 2 o's) is fine right now, just living it up and looking for the next hot latina to woon and then look for another. You don't have to say it, I know you're jealous.

When are we getting the new layout? The content is great but I need to know that this isn't just another free blog Braden. Keep up the good stuff.